According to a new report, the Taiwanese contract phone maker Foxconn is set to almost double its staffing numbers at its Chennai plant in India, amid higher orders from Apple.
An article in the Indian newspaper The Economic Times said that the news of Apple expanding its manufacturing operation in the country came from “people familiar with the development”, adding that the iPhone maker had secured government clearance for denotifying 40 acres inside the Foxconn premises.
A source was quoted as saying that “the expansion has been on the cards. A portion of their premises has been denotified to ramp up production, for which they need to increase their workforce.”
As explained in the article, companies that operate in special economic zones (SEZs) in India are able to apply to denotify parts of a factory as domestic tariff area (DTA), so that they can produce for the local market. So, we can be sure that the ramped-up production at the plant will cater to Indian buyers.
The news of the expansion would seem to indicate that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 have been faring well on the country, and that demand for these devices is on the up.
It has also been reported that Foxconn is pushing to reopen hostels for workers, after they were closed last year in the wake of a food poisoning incident. More than 10,000 of the 15,000 workers who were affected by the closure are reported to have returned to company-provided accommodation, although Foxconn intends to have its whole workforce back in accommodation by early May.
